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Once again in alphabetical order. After going through a mock selection committee process last night (results can be seen here) I didn’t want to put all that thought into seeding these. I just wanted to see how many of the 68 I could get right.

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This is prediction #3 for the field of 68. This time around I’ve included seedings. Schools with asterisks are play-in games and the ones in bold have already gotten an auto-bid into the tournament. I’ll put up one more prediction on Sunday before the teams are actually announced. Continue reading →

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We are actually less than a week out, but I figured I would go ahead and keep a similar title to my last post. There isn’t much to say that I didn’t say last time, only that there are some teams that have already earned a spot in the tournament by winning their own conference’s tourney. Those schools will be in bold to make things easy.

I am again going to simply list them in alphabetical order. I strongly considered listing them with their seeding this time, but that would have involved figuring out which schools would be in the four play-in games, which didn’t sound very appealing. Either way, I will again be providing my “last four in” at the bottom.

Well, it’s been about nine months since I’ve posted anything on this lovely blog, though I have engaged in some discussion via the comments section of one of my old posts since then. Either way, with Selection Sunday just under two weeks away, I thought I would go ahead and put up my initial prediction for the Field of 68.

I try to do at least one of these every year, even if it’s a last-minute one that I put up within an hour or so before the Selection Committee actually announces the teams. This year, however, I’m going to try to put up three or four in these two weeks leading up to Selection Sunday. The first one is obviously this one, the last one will be right before they’re actually announced, and then there will hopefully be one or two others somewhere in between, and I will of course be revisiting my predictions after the field is actually announced to see how I did.

For this first prediction, I’m going to list them in alphabetical order. Next week I might start actually seeding them, but at the very least I will provide seeding predictions with my last one.

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As some of you may recall, I started this project last summer, when I attempted to uncover the single greatest season for a running back. This time around I’m going to tackle the wide receivers (figuratively, of course, as I doubt I’m physically capable of actually tackling any of the individuals that will be mentioned in this post). I haven’t ran the numbers yet, but my money is on one of Jerry Rice’s seasons, because he’s Jerry Rice, and I don’t really need a reason other than that. Who knows though, maybe I’ll be surprised.

The first thing I did was set some minimum standards:

I only looked at 1970 or later, because the NFL/AFL merger happened that year and it served as a nice cut-off.

The receiver had to play in at least 10 games, with a couple of exceptions made for Dwight Clark and Wes Chandler in the 1982 season, because of the lockout that year.

The receiver had to have a minimum of 2.75 receptions per game. This sounds like a really low number, but if I had put it higher, 1982 would have been representing the seasons from the longest ago. That’s 12 years of football that would have been excluded. I think this number actually just illustrates how much the game has evolved since the 1970’s, so I’m okay with it being that low.

For those that are curious, I will include a list of the excluded receivers at the end of this post, that would have otherwise been considered.

This is who everyone said the Colts were hoping would fall to them in the second round. Many believe that Upshaw, who was also available, was a higher value, but Luck and Fleener already have chemistry, and this will certainly help his development.

35. Baltimore Ravens – Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama

Best pick of the draft so far? It just might be.

36. Denver Broncos – Derek Wolfe, DT, Cincinnati

If I’m Peyton Manning, I’m starting to really regret not going to San Francisco…

37. Cleveland Browns – Mitchell Schwartz, OT, California

I’m just baffled by this pick. Why take Schwartz over Mike Adams? There were also quite a few receivers available.

38. Jacksonville Jaguars – Andre Branch, DE, Clemson

This isn’t a bad pick by any means. The Jags have made a couple good picks already in this draft. Very unusual for them.

39. St. Louis Rams – Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama

Jenkins is extremely talented, but fell this far because of his off-the-field issues. He should be able to help their defense immediately though.

40. Carolina Panthers – Amini Silatolu, OG, Midwestern State

What did Cordy Glenn do to get passed up by so many teams?

41. Buffalo Bills – Cordy Glenn, OT/OG, Georgia

This is a great pick by the Bills. Look out for them, they are silently building a good team.

42. Miami Dolphins – Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford

Phenomenal pick here by the Dolphins. Just like the Bills before them, they grab an offensive lineman who has first-round talent.

43. New York Jets – Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech

This is a solid pick by the Jets. Hill is a bit of a project receiver, but is very talented.

44. Kansas City Chiefs – Jeff Allen, OT, Illinois

This is a big reach.

45. Chicago Bears – Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina

A solid pick by the Bears. Alshon was a great weapon for South Carolina, and his productivity speaks for itself.